Ole Miss Football: Why The Nutt Lawsuit Won’t Be Cataclysmic
By John Gillon
Nutt Grasps At Straws
Houston Nutt gave some coaching advice to Les Miles after LSU fired him. The advice was to get back into the game quickly. Nutt agreed with his wife to take some time off to spend with his family after being fired by Ole Miss. Of course, I won’t fault him for that, I probably would too. However, Nutt told CBS Sports Radio’s The DA Show that his break took him off the radar.
His break could have hampered his job search, but he seems to be in the business of deflecting blame. Nutt was paid by two SEC programs to not coach, that sticks. He also was an older guy, so smaller programs were more likely to go with younger coaches. Everyone wants to find the next big thing. Nutt said this himself to The DA Show.
So if in September Nutt thought his time off cost him his job, why does he now feel Ole Miss started a smear campaign THREE years after his firing that is preventing him from finding a job?The answer is quite simple. Nutt is in denial and does not want to take responsibility for his shortcomings as a head coach. Quick recap, he quite literally drove the Ole Miss football program off a cliff after being run out of Fayetteville.
Nutt’s Lack Of Accountability
Nutt inherited a pretty damn good team in Oxford and did nothing to build on that, he actually made them very much worse. Of course, knowing this makes it hard to think any smaller school would hire him,after spending years out of the game, to build their program into a success.
Nutt seems only interested in being a head coach. History has shown us that after failing as a head coach it is best to take a step back and be an assistant before pursuing another head coaching gig. Good examples would be Will Muschamp and Lane Kiffin as both spent time as a coordinator before becoming a head coach again.
Another common trait they share is youth in comparison to Nutt. The business model they used may not have worked for Nutt. He was already in the twilight of his career, so why would any small program risk it when they have such a small margin for error?
Had Ole Miss began smearing him from the beginning, he would have a point. However, this is not what happened. So to conclude, Nutt’s lawsuit will not signal the end for Freeze or even Ross Bjork as both have achieved unprecedented success in Oxford.